Firefighters took about half an hour to beat out a fire on a Severn Valley Railway embankment.

The PA news agency answers 12 key questions about the current situation.

NHS Volunteer Responders said more stewards are needed to help out at vaccination sites.

Education unions, backed by the Liberal Democrats, had urged Education Secretary Gavin Williamson to take action.

Boris Johnson said the UK would have to ‘manage the consequences’ of the US withdrawal.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for heavy showers and thunder across parts of England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

A 12-year-old girl, from Cradley Heath, has been selected as one of 40 finalists taking part in the Junior Miss British Isles Model Competition.

Police revoked the rights of gun owners in the Black Country and Staffordshire hundreds of times over the last decade, figures show.

Only one in 10 burglaries in the West Midlands were solved by police over the last five years.

Around 75 bikers have taken to streets in the Black Country for a funeral procession of a father-of-five who was killed in Rowley Regis.

A Black Country sports stadium is to be twinned with the famous field in Flanders where First World War soldiers downed their arms for a game of football – as part of a tribute to Dudley football legend Duncan Edwards.

Sometimes, as a journalist, a story falls into your lap that seems just too bizarre to be true.

A train has been named to honour the memory of eleven people who died and 45 others who were injured in a tragic level crossing accident in the Staffordshire village of Hixon in 1968.

Former West Bromwich East MP Tom Watson, who served on the frontline of politics for more than four decades, has been announced as one of the main speakers at this year's Bewdley Festival.

The on-going regeneration of Perry Barr ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games has taken another step forward – with the approval of plans for a new bus interchange.

He put on a brave face, but it was total humiliation – and one Boris Johnson could do nothing about.

Boris Johnson stood before the House holding the baby and wringing his hands. An unhappy combination.

A series of road closures have been announced for when a major cycling event hits the Black Country later this year.

A brave Black Country woman scaled the O2 Arena in London to raise money for a cancer charity after long her mother and grandmother.

A petition has been launched to save a care home from potential closure.

A grieving mother is looking for answers after tributes to her son were removed from side of the road where he died.

A Black Country MP has told how an Afghan interpreter managed to escape the clutches of the Taliban after facing whip-wielding thugs at Kabul airport.

A Second World War "piece of ordnance" which saw a road and bridge in Bewdley closed off has been recovered and will be made safe.

Police are appealing for help in returning stolen items worth almost £300,000 to their rightful owners – after they were discovered during a drugs raid in the Black Country.

Police are appealing for help in tracing two men in connection with an arson attack at a house in the Black Country.

Around 200 tyres were dumped in a street in the Black Country, prompting an investigation.

A man has been arrested after a woman was found dead with serious head injuries at a house in the West Midlands.

Leisure centre staff in Sandwell are set to hold further strikes over changes to their contracts.

A man from Stafford has been jailed for more than five years after causing the death of another driver in a car crash in Stone.

A further 11 coronavirus deaths have been announced in the region's hospitals – in the latest figures released by NHS England.

Child arrests in the West Midlands have fallen by 76 per cent over the last decade following a shift in police policy towards youths.

Dudley Council has agreed to refund care home top-up fees for concerned families whose relatives were not offered an affordable placement.

Councillors are asking for a rethink into the Black Country Plan – claiming residents are confused by mixed proposals to development.

A main road running through a village will be closed overnight for nearly two weeks for resurfacing works.

Minor design changes to Staffordshire’s new designer shopping outlet have been approved – but councillors have raised concerns about the number of alterations that have been put forward in recent months.

Talks are underway over plans to close a major county road while HS2 works take place, it has emerged.

A Black Country takeaway was forced to close by environmental health officers after a rat infestation was discovered.

A motorcyclist has been seriously injured following a collision with a taxi.

Two police officers have been praised for their bravery in tackling a domestic abuse suspect – with one left with a badly broken finger.

Two suspected knifemen have appeared in court charged with attempted murder after an attack on two police officers.

Erdington Court Bowls Club is to hold a delayed celebration for a member who was a stalwart in the community.

A cancer support centre has launched a major new fundraising drive as it bids to offer a lifeline to patients impacted by the pandemic.

Wolverhampton is up against 19 other places as it bids to become the UK's next City of Culture.

Servicemen and women will provide a guard of honour for a Second World War veteran's funeral after an astonishing response to a social media appeal.

Dozens of colourful lights are filling the 900-year-old Lichfield Cathedral as part of a new exhibition which opened this week.

A major retrofit project has been launched to improve the region's water supply.

A craftswoman who teaches people how to make modern forms of scrapbooks has been nominated for two national awards.

A father-of-two from Brewood has turned a spare room hobby into a thriving small business and has now gained a distributor in the United States and a sales outlet at a shop in Lichfield.

A recruitment drive has been launched to boost the membership of Hednesford Men's Probus Club, who are preparing to meet on September 9.

Lunchtime visitors to a Staffordshire restaurant will be able to try some of the recipes its chef has made famous on a popular television show.

Gavin Williamson has been urged to improve ventilation in schools to help reduce the spread of Covid.

The UK government will be preparing for terror attacks on home soil following the Taliban's seizure of power in Afghanistan, a security expert has warned.

A former member of the Armed Forces has now scaled down his interests as a member of The Aerospace and Vehicle Modelling Club which is staging a special show at Wombourne on September 5.

Fabulous floral displays and inspiration for gardeners await visitors to this year’s Malvern Autumn Show, where the Royal Horticultural Society Flower Show will take centre stage from September 24 until September 26.

A Cannock Chase holiday campsite’s bid to add 12 static caravans and remove 40 touring pitches has been rejected by councillors because the plans are considered inappropriate development in the green belt.

A man has been charged with attempted robbery after a Staffordshire bank was targeted.

Plans to knock down a hotel and replace it with housing have been approved by councillors.

Labour, the SNP, Liberal Democrats and Plaid Cymru called for Mr Raab to either quit or be sacked by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Council bosses in the Black Country have pledged to help Afghan families fleeing their country after the Taliban takeover.

West Midland Safari Park has unveiled new plans for overnight stays with its Sumatran tigers.

A man in prison for killing of a 23-year-old during a row has had his jail term increased by 15 months.

A further four coronavirus deaths have been announced in the region's hospitals – in the latest figures released by NHS England.

A popular South Asian arts festival has been cancelled for the second year running due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Cuts to police officer numbers has had a "stark" impact on communities, the region’s police and crime commissioner has warned.

Jake Davison, 22, turned his gun on himself after his 12-minute rampage.

More than 70 houses are to be built on land where "toxic waste" was dumped despite a four-decade campaign to protect the area from development.

Members of the public have been banned from entering derelict buildings reported to have been used by drug addicts and sex workers.

A walker died of multiple injuries after falling from a notorious narrow ridge on Snowdon, the opening of an inquest heard.

A former soldier from the Black Country who lost both his legs in an explosion in Afghanistan has spoken of his sorrow at the "soul-destroying" turn of events in the country this week.

A parade is being held for Olympic boxer Ben Whittaker in his Black Country home town on Saturday.

Pc Jamie Holloway went into the back of David Shaw’s Ford Fiesta at an estimated 75mph, flipping it on to its roof.

A government minister has hailed the efforts of Marcus Rashford for highlighting the plight of disadvantaged families during the pandemic.

The Government has rejected the idea of making Covid vaccines compulsory for university students, a minister has said.

Arsonists set fire to a building belonging to a Christian charity in the Black Country.

The Belfry Hotel has been shortlisted for three awards in the 2021 miaList and M&IT Industry Awards.

A church in Sutton Coldfield has enjoyed a revamp giving a nod to the past while looking to the future.

People have travelled the equivalent of more than twice around the world as they took part in a major physical activity game played across Wolverhampton.

The deaths of a police officer and his three-year-old son are being treated as a suspected murder/suicide.

A pop-up vaccination clinic is set to open at Kidderminster Medical Centre on August 21.